best whittlin' knife?

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kingmanted

Joined
Aug 5, 2008
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Hello everyone,I'm a prematurely old-old man,and I love to whittle stuff with my little Case Stockmen,and I was thinking....what would be the best whittling knife pattern??:confused: Case sends me their catalog and I'm always looking at it contemplating what my next case purchase will be lol.
 
A medium or small stockman actually is quite a good whittling knife.

The sharpest one you have is probably the best.

The pattern you like most is probably the best.

There are several whittler patterns out there, one of them is probably the best.

The congress with four blades is probably the best.

Peanuts are the best, what was the question?

What are we whittling? Do I get to have a big knife and a little one? That is probably the best.

A trapper is the best. For whittling, probably the mini trapper is the best.

Slimline trappers are the best. What was the question? Oh, to whittle, you use the blade full grip for shaping, then choke up on its fine point for detail work.

There. That should get us started nicely.
 
Personally, I like the Case medium congress in CV (yellow). The size and variety of blades makes it very useful and comfortable to employ.
 
for a while i had a great little Western railsplitter pattern type knife that was basically a stockman but with a coping blade and a secondary clip blade...it was great for whittling. the slim coping blade and the short clip were great for getting into corners and tight spaces on different types of carvings but i also had the large clip blade for food and general cutting. sadly i lost it due to a holey pocket. if i ever commission a custom slipjoint, it will be a copy of this pattern.

but i have been carrying a large Case stockman lately and it has been working well. the sheepsfoot blade is a bit large and wide, but it works well. i miss the secondary clip a little bit, but the spay blade works pretty well too, and it lets me cut gouge type cuts pretty well with the really deep belly. the main clip gets the most use opening boxes and cutting up food.
 
I have a Seahorse Whittler and really LOVE the design of the blades and the handle. It's super comfortable to use.

It's a bit small so depending on what you are looking to whittle it may not work for everything.

I just got a large stockman and it looks like it would great for some whittling.
 
Blues said:
Personally, I like the Case medium congress in CV (yellow). The size and variety of blades makes it very useful and comfortable to employ.
Click to expand...

A Case medium Congress in CV.
Sound a good combo for whittling.
When did they stop making them?
 
I have a couple of Whitter patterns

A Queen with a Clip as the main blade, and coping and spear as the smaller blades.
The main clip is quite thick and I find it difficult to use.

A Henkels with a Clip as the main blade, and a coping and small clip as the smaller blades.
I find the small clip very useful.

But that all said
I use a Queen Half Congress 4" in Cocobolo with D2.
4" is a good size to hold.
The back bend of the pattern is comfortable.
I really like the large sheepsfoot blade, it is quite thin and very easy to sharpen.
And the D2 stays sharp forever
The end/nose of the sheepsfoot is flat ground so the end of the blade where it meets the nose is sharp for use.
The sheepsfoot is not to long to use the point well, but long enough for removal.
The point/end of the sheepsfoot is very easy to control to get into wood.
And the small pen/spear blade is swedged one side so it has a good fine strong point for small work.
Enough said?
 
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All the professional "whittlers" I have seen here use a fixed blade knife. But that seems to be the only constant, some use broad blades some fairly narrow some really short ones ( 50 mm, about 2") some about 100mm.

Hmmm. the other thing that is common is that all have used a carbon steel blade but that might be more a matter of availability that preference.

The work they are mostly doing is somewhat special, some go for sculpting though.

TLM
 
I use mostly purpose-built fixed blade carving knives but sometimes I use pocket knives. My opinion is that the blade set is more important than the overall pattern of the knife - give me a coping blade and a small pen blade and Bob's your uncle!
 
mycroftt said:
I use mostly purpose-built fixed blade carving knives but sometimes I use pocket knives. My opinion is that the blade set is more important than the overall pattern of the knife - give me a coping blade and a small pen blade and Bob's your uncle!
Click to expand...

Agreed - the coping and pen blades on my whittler get more use than the main blade on my whittler.
 
"...and Bob's your uncle." How far north in Virginia are you from there mate!! ;)

The last time I did any utility whittling (cabinet locks and decorative hinges and latches) all I had was a SAK with a main spear point and a pen blade. I kept them sharp with a fine stone and managed to get it done right. I whittle some patterns on woods walking sticks just for fun and then end up giving them away. I've used everything from a Kabar to a Spyderco Ladybug.
 
Pappy made some fine and accurate assertions about whittling and the tools of the trade in this thread http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=572965
I suggest having a look, it might give you some food for thought, especially in terms of comfort. Which is something most folks newer to whittling overlook, much to their own dismay after those blisters set in.
My two cents though, is just to grab a nice sharp knife and start fiddling around and practicing different cuts, eventually you'll learn where and how to cut and get a feel for things. After all, that's the joy of whittling, the tactile nature.


Gautier
 
myright said:
I have a Seahorse Whittler and really LOVE the design of the blades and the handle. It's super comfortable to use..
Click to expand...

I am with myright, + 1 on this one here. Seems like a very comfy old feller in the hand and you may be surprised how much detail work the large Wharncliffe blade can preform. Case XX # 6355WH..

000_1080.jpg


My next favorites after that is a good Stockman pattern and then Congress pattern.

Oh and Welcome to the forum, kingmanted. :)
 
myright & sunnyd - is the main blade on the Seahorse Whittler the full tang thickness, all the way down the spine? I need a knife with a little thicker blade, and I've been wondering about these. I can't find a photo anywhere of a top or bottom view of the Seahorse or any other whittler, for that matter.

thx - cpr
 
Yo Elliot,

You are kill'n me here, now Ive got the, "Na,na,na,na,na,na,na,na, BATMAN", song in my head and I can't stop singing it!. :eek: :p :D :D
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orca8589 said:
myright & sunnyd - is the main blade on the Seahorse Whittler the full tang thickness, all the way down the spine? I need a knife with a little thicker blade, and I've been wondering about these. I can't find a photo anywhere of a top or bottom view of the Seahorse or any other whittler, for that matter...thx - cpr
Click to expand...

If I understand your question correctly, I would say yes. Check out the following I just shot for you and see if this helps a little..

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000_2004.jpg


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The main reason I love the # 6355WH pattern is the thick spine of the Wharny blade with zero side to side wobble. Ive had more than just a few of these patterns and every one of them has been consistently tightly made.
 
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